Strange Times in Gravity Falls
by HuskieDawg
Summary: Wendy and Dipper find a mysterious man in the woods and decide to help him. Gideon seeks to run the Pines family out of town while taking revenge on those that have failed him. Dipper tries to put a stop to his plans, with some unexpected help. Definite WenDip. Some action, if rating needs to be changed PLEASE let me know. Stan theory and more. Now completed. Sequals to come!
1. Chapter 1

Water swirled around him. He struggled to see as he tried desperately to swim against the current. There was a flash of lightning and her silhouette appeared briefly ahead of him. He popped his head above the surface and gasped for air, just in time to see her bob frantically up out of the water and cry for help, he paddled faster, colliding with the flotsam from the burst dam. His body screamed at him to stop, but he knew he couldn't. If he dared give up, Mabel would die...

3 weeks earlier...

Dipper tried to be a good brother, but sometimes that proved to be a challenge. Mabel was always getting herself into trouble, and he'd lost track of how many times he had to bite his tongue and smile when presented with one of his sister's hare brained schemes. But in the end, his sister's smile was more than worth it.

Today was one of those days that Dipper really struggled.

He, Soos, Wendy, and Mabel sat on the floor of the Mystery Shack, assembling a massive diorama of the area to impress Mabel's latest crush. Mabel was singing about how dreamy her crush was, while Dipper painted a pine tree, disappointed that once again, he had been drug away from his hunt for the mysterious author of the mystery journal by yet another one of his sister's attempts at "true love". He sighed, and looked up, meeting Wendy's gaze. The redhead smiled at him, then looked mischievous before pelting him with a bag of Popsicle sticks.

"Think fast!" She said, and it hit him square in the face.

Dipper chuckled, how could he be too disappointed when he was spending time with Wendy?

Wendy looked thoughtful, before turning to Maybel.

"Hey," she began. "Dipper looks tired, I mean he didn't even try to catch those Popsicle sticks I just threw at him!"

"Golly!" Mabel cried. "Then maybe you shouldn't be throwing things at him!"

"Yeah Wendy!" Dipper teased, but Wendy continued.

"I think maybe we need a break," Wendy stated. "Would that be okay, Mabel?"

"Hmmm...what do you think, vice president Waddles?" She inquired, turning to her pet pig who sat eating glue a few feet away. When he oinked, she turned and nodded, grinning.

Everyone stood up and stretched, and Wendy smiled and gave Dipper a thumbs up. He walked over to her.

"Thanks Wendy," he whispered.

"Yeah, no problem dude!" Wendy replied, and they both stepped outside.

Dipper retrieved the journal from the front room on the way. They looked up at the sky, the sun was starting to set.

"Wow, what a perfect night!" Dipper commented.

"What, for mystery hunts?" Wendy teased, tapping the book in his arms.

"Well, uh..."

"Relax Dipper!" Wendy laughed. "I'm way ahead of you!" And she held up a flashlight.

Dipper smiled.

"Really?" He asked, and when she nodded he cheered.

The two of them stepped off the porch and into the woods.

"So," Wendy began. "What are we looking for?"

"Well," said Dipper. "I've been reading the journal under the blacklight, and there's evidence that suggests the existence of a second bunker made by the author. We're looking for something called the owl tree..."

"Sweet!" Wendy smiled.

Dipper couldn't hero but smile too. He was lucky to have a friend like Wendy. And maybe, just maybe, there was a hand that someday they could be together. They walked side by side in the fading light, and everything felt right.

Deeper in the woods, however, a trouble was brewing.

Gideon finished the incantation, waiting for Bill to arrive. We wanted Bill to pay for his failure, and for his negligence while Gideon was in prison. The world slowed down and turned gray around him, and finally, Bill flashed above his head. The triangle gazed down at Gideon and rolled his eye.

"Great," he grumbled. "You again. Hey genius, you know I could have retrieved that code from the pit. After all, I can fly!"

"Silence! Slave" Gideon yelled, stamping his foot. "I command you to-"

"What?! Slave?!" Bill repeated, landing on front of Gideon and making cyan flames burst out all around them. "Now look here buddy, I'm no slave! If you forget," his eye narrowed, and Gideon saw a red glow surrounding the triangle. " I am a being of pure energy. With no weaknesses. You may want to watch that tongue of yours. "

"Perhaps," Gideon responded. "But let's see how powerful you are when I give you a dose of THIS!"

And with that, Gideon dumped a vile of liquid into Bill. Steam began to rise from the triangle and he shrieked.

"What?! No-" Bill cried as his form distorted and twisted.

His hold on the mindscape was failing, and time began to move again, color flickering back into reality.

"No weaknesses, huh Bill?" Gideon taunted. "Seems to me like that wasn't entirely true."

Gideon cackled and stalked away, leaving Bill writhing alone in the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

Dipper sighed, it couldn't get much better than this. Going on a mystery hunt with Wendy! Nothing could ruin this-

A groan came from somewhere ahead of them. Wendy looked startled.

"Dipper, did you hear that?" She whispered.

"Yeah, it sounded like it was coming from up there..." Dipper trailed off.

He paused. A combination of curiosity and fear washed over him. He didn't want Wendy to get hurt, and he didn't want to leave Mabel and Soos wondering what could have happened to them, and yet someone could need their help...

They ventured forward, following the moaning sound until they came into a clearing. A man lay on the ground, curled up in a ball on the opposite side of the clearing.

"Dipper, look!" Wendy cried, and they both rushed over to the man.

Wendy knelt down and tried to examine the man. She shook him gently but he did not move. She turned to Dipper, looking frantic.

"Dipper, he's not waking up!"

Dipper knelt down next to her, puzzled. The man was wearing a yellow suit coat, and black dress pants. He certainly wasn't dressed for hiking in the woods. The man had messy golden blonde hair, and looked young from the side of his face that was visible to Dipper. Sweat was pouring down the mysterious man's face, and he looked to be in agony.

"We need to get him out of here," Dipper stated. "Do you think we can carry him?"

Wendy nodded, and the two of them gently pried the man out of fetal position, draped his arms over their shoulders and half carried, half drug him to the Mystery Shack.

The trip was grueling. Neither he nor Wendy spoke for the entire time, except briefly to shift the man's weight when he let out a sudden yelp of pain. When they'd finally reached the Mystery Shack, Soos ran out to greet them.

"Dudes! Where've you guys been?! We're almost done with the diorama!" He called.

"We had a slight problem," Wendy huffed.

"We found this guy knocked out in the woods," Dipper grunted. "Could you help us get him inside?"

Soos cracked his knuckles.

"Leave it to me, dudes." He said, and he effortlessly slung the man over his back.

The group marched in to find Grunkle Stan watching "Grandpa the Kid" next to Mabel, who'd fallen asleep on his shoulder. They crept passed and into to spare room, where Soos was setting the mysterious man down on the bed. The man's hair was draped over the right side of his face, the dark edge of an eye patch underneath. His left eye flickered open slightly to reveal an almost golden colored iris before flicking shut again. His fists were clenched, and he still has an agonized look about him. Dipper felt uneasy. There was something very familiar about the man.

Wendy placed her hand on the man's face, and looked concerned.

"He's burning up," she murmured. "Dipper, go fetch me a cool, damp cloth. Soos, get ."

Dipper rushed out and grabbed the cloth. When Wendy placed the cool cloth on the man's head, he seemed to relax a little. Wendy brushed the man's hair back, examining the eye patch.

"Dipper, check it out!" She chucked. "I think we found a pirate!"

Dipper chuckled nervously.

"Haha, yeah!" He said. "Or maybe Lazy Susan's grandson!"

Wendy laughed, and Stan entered, carrying a sleeping Mabel.

"What do you want me to do?!" He grumbled. "The guy's probably alright, just let him sleep." He yawned. "I'm beat. Goodnight."

Stan walked away, and Dipper rolled his eyes. Typical Stan.

"Well," Wendy sighed. "I guess we all we can do is watch him? I mean, I don't really know it Stan would appreciate us stealing his car to take him to the hospital..."

"Yeah," said Dipper. "He probably are too much sugar and couldn't handle it."

Wendy laughed.

"Good one." She giggled. "Hey, maybe we could look over that journal! I mean, we have to watch this guy anyways!"

Dipper smiled.

"Of course!" He said.

He opened the journal and they started flipping through it. Soos joined them with a bag of Burrito Bites. As they read, Dipper still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling, but smiled and laughed anyways.

"Oh hey!" Soos exclaimed, pointing to one page. "The triangle guy!"

"Yeah," said Dipper. "Bill Cipher. We haven't seen him in a while... Luckily."

He paused. At the mention of Bill, the man tried to open his eyes again. Dipper narrowed his eyes suspiciously. No, it couldn't be Bill... Could it?


	3. Chapter 3

Bill's head was spinning. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on. All he knew was that he hurt everywhere. He was dimly aware the something was very very different, but there was a stabbing pain at his very core, and everytime he tried to open his eye, it got worse.

"Dudes, truth or dare?" A voice echoed somewhere near by.

"Not now Soos." Another voice answered.

"Dipper's right, I need to head home. Bye guys!"

Bill let out a moan. Maybe someone could help him.

"Did you hear that?" A voice whispered, and Bill moaned a little louder.

Suddenly someone was tapping his shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Bill tried to open his eye, but it made the spinning worse.

"I don't know..." Bill coughed. "What happened? What's wrong with me?"

"We don't know, Dude. Dipper and Wendy found you in the woods."

Dipper...so Pinetree had found him. He made an effort to move, but felt a stabbing pain in his chest and yelped.

"Dude, you better not move. Want me to get an ambulance or something?" That was Question Mark.

"It'll do no good," Bill whimpered. "Can't you see?"

Why didn't he understand? A hospital couldn't do any good for an omnipresent floating triangle...

"Whoa, dude, we're not gonna let you anything happen to you." Question Mark all of a sudden sounded concerned. "Hey Dipper! Let's get an ambulance over here! This dude's in pretty bad shape!"

Question Mark took something off his forehead and rushed out of the room. Why were they trying to help him? After all he'd done? Pinetree raced back in, putting a new damp towel on Bill's head.

"It's gonna be okay," Dipper said. "The ambulance is on its way. You're gonna be just fine..."

Pinetree was checking something else.

"Soos hurry!" He called. "It's getting worse!"

Bill felt light headed. He couldn't lift his head.

"What's getting worse?" He asked, feebly.

"Nothing," Pinetree stammered. "You're okay."

He could feel Pinetree applying pressure to his chest, and suddenly everything went black...

He wasn't sure how no one had noticed the wound before. Dipper put an enormous amount of effort into keeping pressure on the re-opened wound on the man's chest. He tried to talk to the man and reassure him, but he was once again unconscious. When the paramedics arrived, he was brushed aside. He stepped back, worried. He hoped the man would be okay!

Stan entered the room, looking irritated.

"Ugh, trying to sleep here! What the-" he was cut off as a paramedic hurried past.

They loaded the man up, and began to haul him away. As they left, the man's eye flickered open again.

"Thanks... Pinetree." The man croaked, and Dipper's eyes widened.

He had to be Bill. No one else had ever called him that...

The next day, Dipper thought Stan would be angry with him but Grunkle Stan only smiled and ruffled his hair.

"You're a hero, kid." He chuckled, a hint of pride in his voice. "Good job. Now go unclog the sink."

After finishing his chores, Dipper decided he had some investigating to do. He gathered Wendy, Mabel, and Soos outside.

"Mystery Hunt?" Soos asked, smiling.

"Yes." Dipper replied, he opened the journal to the page with the owl tree. "We have a few interesting developments to investigate. First off, we're going to find the owl tree, and second, we're going to find out how Bill ended up in a human body."


	4. Chapter 4

"Bill?" Mabel piped up. "What has he got to do with anything?"

"You know that man that me and Wendy found in the woods?" Said Dipper, and when Mabel nodded, he continued. "I don't know how, but I think that somehow he is Bill."

"I wish I could have seen him." Said Mabel.

"But dude, why would you think he was the triangle guy?"

"Well, for one thing he called me Pinetree!" Dipper explained.

"When?" Wendy asked, looking shocked.

"When the paramedics were taking him away." Sighed Dipper.

Mabel suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Where did you find him? Maybe we could find some clues to help us!" She said excitedly.

"And the owl tree? I thought you guys might want to search for the owl tree first. I mean, my hunch on Bill might be wrong..." Dipper looked at his friends, surprised.

"No, I think your hunch could be right!" Wendy smiled as she said this. "Dude, stopping this Bill guy sounds like important stuff!"

"We're here for you bro-bro!" Mabel chimed in, hugging her brother. "Besides, Bill might know something about where the owl tree is!"

Soos gave a thumbs up.

"I'm with you guys, dudes!" He said.

They began their trek to where Wendy and Dipper had discovered the man. Dipper was sure he had the greatest friends. As they walked, Dipper felt like something was off about the forest. It was very quiet. He sand Wendy led the way until they'd reached the clearing where they'd found him. Mabel let out a small gasp.

"This is the same place that me and Soos saw Gideon summon Bill!" She squeaked.

Wendy inspected the clearing.

"Guys, come look at this!" She called, kneeling down.

Dipper rushed over to her and gasped. He hadn't noticed it the day before because the dusk light made it difficult. But in the daylight, the grass around then had been scorched into a triangular shape. Dipper glanced around. Across the clearing, he spotted two objects close to where the man had been moaning. He rushed over and discovered a black top hat and cane. The man had to be Bill.

Bill awoke to the sound of something beeping next to his head. He opened his eye, irritated. He glanced around and realized he must be in a hospital. But why? He looked at his hands and knew the answer immediately. Gideon had stripped him from his original form with that burning potion. He was now human. Clean gauze had been wrapped around the massive burn on his chest. At least he was on the mend.

Bill sighed and rubbed his eye. He had to find a way to get back to his original form. In this form he would still have a few of his abilities, but he would experience human limitations.

He heard voices in the hallway, and a nurse entered.

"Hello sir! You are looking much better!" The nurse said. "Now, can you remember your name? Or shall I just keep calling you Mr. Doe?"

She smiled, and checked his vitals.

"Uh, my name's Bill." He stammered.

"Just Bill?" The nurse inquired.

Bill shrugged, and the door opened again, another nurse poked his head in.

"Mr. Doe, you have visitors!" He announced.

Bill furrowed his brows, confused, but before he could say anything, Pinetree and his friends shuffled into the room. Pinetree holding his cane and top hat.

The nurses left.

"Hey Pinetree!" Bill greeted. "Thanks for your help!"

The kid looked confused.

"Why are you here?" Pinetree demanded.

Bill rolled his eye.

"For that, you'll have to ask Gideon."

"Gideon?" Said Pinetree. "What's he got to do with this?"

Bill shrugged.

"Well he was the one who summoned me." He grumbled.

"Of course!" Shooting Star exclaimed. "It all makes sense! We found Bill where Gideon had summoned him last time!"

"Not more Gideon!" Pinetree groaned. "Why can't it just be zombies?!"


	5. Chapter 5

Gideon chuckled to himself as Bill cringed and groaned. The potion had worked! He held up Journal #2 and nearly kissed it.

Step one, complete. Gideon pranced away. He was so glad he was the greatest person ever! He weaved his way through the trees be back into town. It felt so good to be back in Gravity Falls! But the sleepy little Oregon town didn't know what was heading its way. Gideon had horrible plans, but if his failed massive robot of himself had taught him anything, it was that subtlety was important.

Gideon sneaked quietly down his street. When he spotted his house, he messed up his hair on conjured some big 'ole alligator years. He knocked, feebly. His father answered the door.

"Oh my poor little Gideon!" He cried out.

"Daddy," Gideon coughed, trying to sound pathetic. "Daddy, is that you?"

"Gideon!" His father cried. "What have they don't to you?!"

"Please..." Gideon stammered. "Hold me!"

And with that his father scooped him up into his arms and brought him inside. Gideon could not help but smirk. So far, so good...

Bill was shortly released from the hospital. Dipper was still suspicious, but he, Mabel, Wendy, and Soos decided that they might need to trust him for once. After all, Gideon was a man (albeit just a little man) of no mercy. Bill could end up being their ace in the hole.

As the group entered the Mystery Shack, Stan glanced up from a newspaper.

"There you kids are! I've been looking for you!" He grunted. "Oh, hello again."

He nodded to Bill and kept reading. Add they walked through, Dipper and Mabel struggled to keep Bill from picking merchandize up and playing with it.

"Look, what's this?" Bill said, grabbing at a paddle ball.

"No!" Dipper scolded, snatching it from his hands. "Well... Maybe later."

They shuffled into the living room. Bill sat cross legged on the dinosaur skull next to the couch, grinning. Dipper sat next to Wendy and Soos. Mabel hurried in after him, slapping a sticker on Bill's forehead.

Bill didn't look at it, but said: "Cat with sunglasses? An excellent choice, Shooting Star."

"How'd you know?" Mabel inquired.

"My powers might be limited," he explained. "But I still know lots of things."

This have Dipper an idea.

"Wait, so what can you still do? Maybe we can use it to stop Gideon!"

Bill looked thoughtful, and snapped his fingers. A little blue flame appeared.

"Well, there's that," he stated, grinning more (if that was physically possible).

He tipped his hat, and Dipper braced himself... But reality didn't shift. Looking disappointed, Bill scratched his head. He closed his eye briefly.

"Well, I can still read minds and sense lots of things!" He declared, looking excited. "Hey Red, don't worry! You won't be alone forever! You just need to stop being so blind!"

Wendy gasped and blushed.

"Woah dude!" Soos cheered. "Me next!"

"Well if you're hungry for a quesadilla you should just go make one!" Bill declared without skipping a beat.

Soos grinned.

"You really can read minds!" Soos said, leaving for the kitchens.

Bill rubbed his chin and pointed his finger at the TV like a gun.

"Hmmm, no lasers." He mumbled. "I tried over shadowing an old lady at the hospital but that didn't work... I wonder..."

He closed his eye. It opened again, this time glowing blue. He shut it again and it returned to normal.

"Phew!" Bill chuckled. "I can still enter the mindscape. I must admit I had myself worried!"

"That's great!" Dipper cheered.

"Is it?" Wendy whispered to him, as Bill turned almost menacingly to face them.

Dipper gulped, but Bill only laughed.

"Ah, it's okay kid!" Bill laughed. "For once I'm with you guys, this should be fun!"


	6. Chapter 6

Bill sat back and propped his legs up on the counter. The group had been called into the shop to help Stan, and Stan had put Bill in charge of being a backup tour guide. Out of boredom, he had been using his hand to draw turkeys all over the counter.

"Bill!" Pinetree exclaimed. "Bill what're you doing?!"

"This," Bill replied matter of factly, and he grabbed Pinetree's hand and drew another turkey. "Look! A turkey!"

Pinetree rubbed his eyes, looking frustrated, and pointed at the counter.

"But all over the counter?!" He shouted.

"Relax kid," Bill said. "I'll make it part of the tour. The Mysterious Turkey Desk!"

Pinetree rolled his eyes and stalked off. Bill sighed and glanced around the all too familiar Mystery Shack. For years he had sat at different posts around the shop... Around the whole town! Watching. Waiting for an opportunity he realized might never come now. He was a mere shadow of his former self, and he missed having his omnipresent powers.

Before long, the customers thinned out, and Grunkle Stan closed the shop. As Pinetree, Shooting Star, and Red rushed outside to continue their investigations, Bill lingered a moment. Stan was giving him an odd look.

"Sir?" Said Bill. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I know you from somewhere, don't I?" Stan inquired, narrowing his eyes. "Before the kids found you in the woods."

Bill frowned. Did Stan really remember him? After all these years? And in this form?

"I uh, I don't think so." Bill stammered, but then he smirked. "I'm kind of unforgettable."

"Eugh," Stan grumbled. "You might want to work on that ego kid."

Stan headed for the kitchen, and Bill sighed with relief. The old man didn't recognize him! It was lucky that he hadn't. If Grunkle Stan knew who b he really was, he'd probably kill him for the mess he'd made...

Wendy sat on a log outside the Mystery Shack, puzzling as Bill trotted over to she, Dipper, and Mabel. She caught his one golden eye, and he grinned knowingly. He could tell what she was puzzling over. She bit her cheek. He'd said she was blind? What was she blind to? Was the perfect man right under her nose? Where was he?

She rubbed her eyes, frustrated. Why was she even puzzling over this? She knew she was way over thinking it...

"Wendy?" Dipper's voice came from right in front of her.

She looked up, he was smiling.

"You okay?" He asked, taking a seat next to her.

"I'm fine," Wendy stated, pushing her thoughts back. "Just have a little headache is all!"

"Oh. Well, do you want to stay here while me, Mabel, Soos, and Bill go on the Mystery Hunt?" Dipper offered.

"Nah," Wendy replied, smiling. "Some fresh air will do me good."

She glanced up and saw Soos exiting the shack and coming towards them. Dipper stepped away to talk to him.

"You know," a voice came from behind Wendy, making her jump.

She turned to see Bill standing behind her, his Cheshire cat grin across his face.

"He's right under your nose..." Bill said, continuing to grin.

And suddenly Wendy realized what Bill had meant...


	7. Chapter 7

Red's face was priceless. He had to keep himself from laughing.

"SOOS?!" Red blurted out.

"Wha-? No! Not Question Mark!" He regained his composure. "None other than the one and only Pinetree."

Red looked irritated.

"You know nothing." She growled, and she stomped off.

Bill folded his arms defiantly and rolled his eye. It was her own fault for not believing him. He sighed and joined the rest of the group. Pinetree was holding up the journal.

"Everyone!" Pinetree exclaimed. "Today's mystery hunt is of utmost importance. As we're all well aware, Gideon is out of prison, and definitely up to something."

"So where do we start?" Shooting Star asked.

"Well," Pinetree began, straightening the cap on his head. "I was thinking we could go into town, look for clues, and maybe see if we can find where Gideon is hiding out...I don't think he's really the type for roughing it in the woods."

"Nope." Bill piped in. "That talking ventriloquist dummy wouldn't last long at all."

Pinetree nodded, he looked a little nervous. Bill scoped his mind. He was scared for his friends. Bill bit his tongue. How interesting! In facing the unknown, Pinetree was more concerned about keeping those closest to him safe, rather than self preservation.

Bill felt awkward all of a sudden. He had always been an outsider looking in, and began to be acutely aware of how little he actually understood about humans.

Dipper glanced around the street. He and Bill had been wandering around the museum, Bill scanning people's minds for clues. Soos, Mabel, and Wendy were in the basement, going through the memories archived in the Hall of the Forgotten, in case if any new memories had shown up.

"Anything?" Dipper inquired, nervous.

"Nothing." Bill mumbled.

Dipper sighed and slouched onto the ground.

"Relax, kid." Bill said. "I could always just slip into the mindscape and explore things that way. It'll take some time, but I'll be able to cover more ground."

"Whatever it takes to find Gideon!" Dipper exclaimed eagerly.

Bill smirked and cracked his knuckles. Dipper watched as he closed his eye, and proceeded to topple to the floor. The lights flickered, and Dipper rushed to Bill's unmoving figure. He had a massive bump on his head, and Dipper frowned. At least Bill didn't seem to mind pain?

He heard a woman gasp from a few feet away and scrambled to his feet. He turned and recognized one of the nurses from Bill's trip to the hospital.

"He, uh, he passed out!" Dipper stammered.

The nurse rushed over, concerned. Dipper tapped his foot impatiently. Any time now Bill!

The nurse checked Bill's pulse.

"His heart's not beating!" She exclaimed.

"What?!" Dipper shouted.

He was genuinely shocked. He wasn't very sure of the logistics of entering the mindscape like Bill had just done. Maybe it didn't matter whether his heart stayed beating during his journey?

The nurse started CPR. In the middle of chest compressions, Bill's eye opened, glowing bright blue. The nurse shrieked and jumped back.

"Right," Dipper began, realizing that it must only be an effect of entering the mindscape. "Bill has a condition. Err, he probably shouldn't have been eating after midnight..."

"Do you think this is a joke?!" The nurse demanded. "I'm calling 911!"

She pulled out her phone and reported what was going on. When the ambulances arrived, Bill suddenly sprang up.

"What the-?!" Bill exclaimed, dusting himself off. "You take a nap in a museum ONE TIME, and everyone just assumes you're dead. Yeesh..."

After all the commotion calmed down, Dipper rushed over to Bill.

"What happened?! Did you find anything?!" Dipper asked.

"Slow down kid!" Bill huffed. "I'm trying to figure out where all the air in my lungs went to!"

"You for the wind knocked out of you!" Dipper explained.

"Right," Bill said. "I knew that. But yes. I found something. Gideon's hiding out at his parents' house. And you're not gonna like what comes next..."


	8. Chapter 8

Bill ventured into the mindscape. At last! Freedom! He swirled out and above the museum. It would be much easier to figure things out this way. He weaved through the town, unnoticed by everyone. He swirled down one way, examining people's thoughts as he passed through. The silver lined gradient mindscape projected their thoughts in vibrant colors. Here was Lazy Susan, thinking about nothing but pie. Toby Determined? Trying to remember how to tie his shoelaces.

He stopped briefly, trying to remember which way Gideon's house was. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Bill has never needed to remember anything before. Having all the information in the universe certainly had its perks, ones that Bill was missing sorely.

He drifted along the street and discovered Gideon's house. He grinned, and slipped through the wall.

He could hear Gideon's voice from somewhere down the hall.

"Daddy!" He called out, pitifully. "Daddy, I need more orange juice!"

Bill rolled his eye. Typical Gideon. He followed the sound of his voice and into his room. He looked at Gideon, and his thoughts projected to into the air above him. Pages from one of the journals, a bunker at the top of the falls, the burning potion, a full moon all swirled around him. Bill furrowed his brows and tried to filter which thoughts were important. It looked like Gideon had his plate full!

He finally zoned in on one page in particular that kept popping into Gideon's thoughts. An amulet. It was white, and had something scrawled onto it. Bill took note of it and moved onto the next subject: the portal. It was three one that Bill had watched Stan build, and the one that Bill himself had used and destroyed so many years ago...

"Not so fast!" Gideon's voice came from below him, and the vibrant images swirled back down into Gideon's mind.

Bill glanced down, shocked. Gideon was looking directly at him.

"Hey there buddy!" Bill said cheekily. "Nice subconscious you've got!"

Gideon didn't looked amused.

"You don't think I don't know how to recognize you, Bill?" Gideon demanded.

"Welllll, it's a little strange for people to notice me reading their thoughts. Especially when I'm in the mindscape!" Bill said, shrugging.

Gideon pointed to the wall. Bill gasped. He was still in his human form and yet his shadow was a triangular shape cast on the wall.

"I thought I ended you!" Gideon shouted.

"Well kid, you thought wrong..."

"SHUT UP!" Gideon exclaimed, stamping his foot. "If I ever see your shadow around here again, I'll-"

But Bill didn't hear the end of Gideon's threat. Something was tugging him backwards. Tugging him out of the mindscape...

He opened his eye to see people crowded around him. Annoyed, he leaped up and brushed himself off.

"What the-?! You take a nap in a museum ONE TIME, and everyone just assumes you're dead. Yeesh..." Bill exclaimed, irritated.

As the crowd cleared, Pinetree rushed over to him, looking eager. He sure wasn't going to like the news...

Gideon glanced around. The lights quit flickering, and the eerie silence ended. He didn't expect for Bill to still be able to enter the mindscape. In fact, Bill wasn't supposed to exist anymore.

He glanced back at the wall where he'd seen his shadow and shuddered. At least Bill's weakened form provided some clues as to when he might be snooping around the mindscape.

Gideon chuckled to himself. It wasn't like Bill could stop the power Gideon was going to unleash anyways...


	9. Chapter 9

Dipper gazed up nervously at Bill.

"Well?!" He demanded.

"Look kid," Bill began. "I don't want scare you or anything but Gideon's looking for revenge. There's an amulet he's going to use, it's hidden in a bunker near the top of the falls."

"There's another bunker?!" Dipper groaned. "So I need to find that one and the owl tree bunker?!"

"Kid, they're the same bunker." Bill explained. "The entrance for the bunker is near the owl tree. But the bunker itself sits by the falls."

Dipper's eyes widened.

"So we need to find the owl tree then?" He inquired, he felt excited.

"Correct." Bill said, and he continued. "Your best bet would be to get to the amulet before he does."

Dipper frowned. How were they going to do that? Gideon must already know where the bunker was, and he and his friends had no clue where to start!

"Relax Pinetree," Bill's voice cut into his thoughts. "The bunker can only be opened during a full moon. The Author wanted the amulet to stay out of the hands of people like Gideon. It's pretty powerful, so he hid it someplace with limited access."

"Do you know where it is?" Dipper asked.

"Ha. Of course I do Pinetree!"

Dipper paused. More hesitant about the next question.

"Did you know the author?"

"What do you think?" Bill shot back, his grin spreading back onto his face.

Dipper considered asking Bill who the author was, but something about his grin told him he didn't want to know yet.

Besides. There were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Is that all of Gideon's plan?" Dipper inquired.

"No," Bill replied. "That's only the beginning. He's also in search of a portal. One that's hiding right under your nose."

"What do you mean?" Dipper demanded.

"That's right. You haven't figured it out yet." Bill mused, his grin growing. "You've been almost as blind as Red has. Tell me, Pinetree, why do you think the feds came by the Shack investigating paranormal activity? Why do you think Stan cautioned you about those books?"

"I..." Dipper began, but he stopped.

He wasn't sure. Could Stan be the author? Or was Bill leading him off?

Bill rolled his eyes.

"Eh, I'll let you think about that. Keep it in mind though kid, big things are coming." Bill said, his tone suddenly turning grim.

Wendy tossed aside Blind Ivan's memories and kept digging. There had to be something of use to them. Stopping Gideon was going to be difficult. Maybe there was a memory somewhere that could expose a weakness?

Soos was humming out of tune and Mabel was stacking the tubes of memories up into a fortress. Wendy smiled. At least they could have some fun doing such monotonous work.

She heard footsteps coming from down the hallway, and turned to see Dipper and Bill entering the Hall of the Forgotten.

"Hey Dipper!" Wendy called, waving to her friend. "Did you guys find anything?"

"We sure did!" Dipper called back, trotting over to her. "Bill was able to find Gideon and read his thoughts."

"Nice, Dude!" Wendy exclaimed. "I wish we were having that kind of luck..."

As she said this, there was a massive clattering sound and Mabel's fortress fell over.

"AVALANCHE!" Mabel yelped.

"Dude," Soos commented. "That fortress was like, majestic!"

Dipper smiled.

"Maybe me and Bill could help you guys?" He offered.

Wendy nodded.

"Sure!" She said.

The two of them worked side by side. Laughing and joking as they worked.

"Look!" Dipper exclaimed, holding up a tube to his eye and posing. "Land ho!"

And with that he tipped over into the massive pile of memories.

Wendy wasn't sure why, but that brought a smile to her face. Dipper always knew how to cheer her up.

"Nice!" Wendy chuckled before kneeling down to check the next pile.

And that's when she spotted it. It was a memory tube marked " "...


	10. Chapter 10

Bill felt weak coming down the stairs to the Hall of the Forgotten. Apparently entering the mindscape had taken its toll on his body. He clenched his fists, angry. He didn't expect the trip to take so much out of him.

Pinetree raced ahead of him to help Red, and Bill fell to his knees. Why couldn't he function?! He sat there in the piles of memory tubes, trying to regain his energy.

"Hey Bill!" A cheery voice came from above him.

Bill looked up to see Shooting Star smiling down at him.

"Hey there Shooting Star." Bill replied weakly.

"You look tired!" Shooting Star stated, and she sat crosslegged next to him.

"No," Bill said indignantly. "My body's just not used to taking orders is all."

Shooting Star laughed.

"No silly, you're tired and you're still recovering! See watch-" she paused here and poked his chest, causing him to laugh and then flinch in pain. "Boop!"

"Alright fine, yeesh." Bill muttered dejectedly. "No need to rub it in."

A strange look appeared on Shooting Star's face. What was it? Pity? Sympathy?

She put her hand on Bill's shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Shooting Star asked.

Bill frowned.

"Well-" he began, but he was interrupted by Pinetree yelling excitedly.

"Guys!" Pinetree yelled. "Guys look what Wendy found!"

Shooting Star smiled at Bill and zipped off to join her brother and friends. Bill heaved a heavy sigh and followed, exhausted.

Pinetree looked excited. He was gesturing triumphantly at Red, who was clutching one of the memory tubes, a smile on her face.

"This memory belongs to Mrs. Gleeful!" Pinetree was saying. "It'll have plenty of information about Gideon on it. Some of it might even be helpful!"

Pinetree's voice was almost a droning buzz to Bill. Why couldn't they all just take a break? It wasn't like there bunker was going to open before the full moon anyways. He began to sway on his feet, and his eye met Shooting Star's for a moment. She looked thoughtful and turned to Pinetree.

"Well that's great Dipper!" She said. "But I need to run home and work on my panorama."

Pinetree looked confused, but nodded.

"Er, okay Mabel." He said.

Shooting Star turned, grabbed Bill by the arm and started to drag him off.

"Come on you Isosceles Monster!" She chirped. "You need to take a nap!"

As Mabel raced off with Bill in tow, Dipper turned back to Wendy and Soos.

"Well," he said, excited. "Shall we test it out?"

Soos and Wendy nodded in agreement, and Dipper inserted the tube into the memory machine. The screen was fuzzy at first, but then the images of Mrs. Gleeful's memories filled the screen.

The first to show up was Mrs. Gleeful's wedding day. Her dark brown hair was pulled into an elegant bun. She looked ecstatic and calm at the same time. She was certainly not the nervous mess she was in the present.

"She's so beautiful," Wendy remarked. "I wonder what happened...?"

The next blip was of Gideon as a toddler. He was screaming and tearing at Mrs. Gleeful's hair.

"Dudes, I'd say Gideon happened!" Soos cut in.

Dipper frowned.

"So far, nothing..." He muttered.

They watched as Mrs. Gleeful suffered several more of Gideon's tantrums until one showed Mrs. Gleeful dangling a dust bunny over Gideon's head. Gideon was squealing in fear.

"Not so fast!" Wendy said, grinning. "This looks promising!"

"He's scared of filth!" The voice of Bud Gleeful exclaimed in the background. "Who knew?"

The next blip was of Gideon using his amulet against his mother.

"I told you!" Gideon yelled. "No. More. Filth!"

Then Mrs. Gleeful was vacuuming everything. She was frantic and obsessive about it.

"I guess that helps?" Dipper said, scratching his head. "I mean, we could just throw a bunch of dirt on Gideon?"

Soos laughed and Dipper rewound the tape, but as he rewound, it didn't stop at the wedding. It kept going until it showed she and none other than Grunkle Stan sitting together drinking coffee and laughing.

"Grunkle Stan?!" Dipper gasped.

He rubbed his eyes. He couldn't believe it. Did Grunkle Stan love Mrs. Gleeful at some point?


	11. Chapter 11

The group walked back into the Mystery Shack. Dipper was still shocked. Was that why Stan hated Gideon so much?

As they entered, Dipper could hear Stan talking to Mabel.

"How big of a panorama does it have to be?" Stan was asking.

"It doesn't really matter, as long as it looks nice!" Mabel replied.

Dipper entered the room and sighed. Stan had green paint splashed over one of his lenses. He looked happy helping Mabel. Dipper paused and smiled. He didn't want to ruin the moment by prying about Stan's past. He felt Wendy put her hand on his shoulder.

"Should we really ask him?" Wendy asked.

"Nah." Dipper replied, and he saw Wendy smile. "Right now it's not important."

"Hey kids!" Stan called. "Wanna help us out? Blondie's crashed on the couch so we could use some extra hands in here!"

Dipper, Soos, and Wendy raced over to them. Dipper glanced at the couch, where Bill was fast asleep, his head burrowed under one of the pillows.

As they worked, Stan would tell them stories about different places around town.

"This is where Carla Hotpants and I used to grab a coffee sometimes!" He announced, holding up a model of a little café.

A realization hit Dipper. It was the same café he'd seen Stan and Mrs. Gleeful in...

"Don't you mean you and Carla Gleeful?" Soos asked abruptly.

Apparently Soos had noticed to. Stan looked surprised but nodded.

"Yeah, those were weird times!" Stan chuckled. "But the real fun was down the street at the gym. There's where me and your grandpa took boxing lessons!"

And just like that Stan went back to talking about old times. Dipper had never heard much about his Grandpa, so he sat back and listened intently, a smile spreading across his face.

Across town, Gideon was hard at work. He wasn't entirely sure why Bill had tried digging through his mind, but frankly it scared him. He flipped through the journal, trying to figure a way to keep Bill from prying. Gideon might be unstoppable, but he wasn't going to let a de-powered demon slow him down.

He furrowed his brow. Why would Bill have tried to spy on him? He couldn't brush the thought off. He sat, perplexed, as he examined the book. He concluded that it didn't matter. He'd just need to whip up a few things so he could destroy Bill once and for all... And perhaps Stan and Dipper Pines as well. He grinned to himself. Then he could use McGucket's invention on Mabel, to wipe her memory. She'd love him if he said he'd saved her or something heroic...

A crash came from the kitchen and Gideon jumped in surprise. He rushed in to see his mother vacuuming the dishes. He scowled. Sometimes he wished he hadn't scared her to the point of vacuuming everything. But it has to be done. Just as his father had to erase the memories of Stan. It was just a problem that couldn't be a stumbling block.

He went back to his room and started mixing a potion. He needed to hit his next target soon before anyone noticed he was in Gravity Falls...


	12. Chapter 12

Bill awoke to somebody poking his nose. His eyelids fluttered open and he saw Shooting Star sitting on his chest with an eager smile on her face, poking his nose with a fork.

"Wake up Bill!" Shooting Star exclaimed. "I made breakfast!"

Bill lifted the girl off his chest and sat up.

"Breakfast?" He yawned.

"Yes!" Shooting Star answered. "You need to eat some food!"

Before Bill could reply, Shooting Star grabbed him by the hand and drug him to the kitchen. She gestured to a seat, and Bill sat down.

"Now cover your eyes..." She said, grinning. "Er, eye!"

Bill rolled his eye and smiled in amusement. He covered his eye.

"Now open it!" She exclaimed.

Bill looked down to see a massive waffle with a bacon smile and eggs for eyes. She hummed happily as she poured him some orange juice.

"Wahey! Thanks Shooting Star!" Bill said, although he wasn't sure why, she was being very kind to him.

"Of course!" Shooting Star replied. "But you don't have to call me Shooting Star. You could just call me Mabel!"

"Well then, thanks Mabel." Bill said, smiling.

Mabel pranced off leaving Bill to his human food. He'd watched people eat millions of times, but it didn't come naturally to him for some odd reason. He picked up the orange juice and dumped it all over his face. He then shoved the waffle in his mouth and tried to swallow it. It didn't work, and he gagged.

"You have to chew it, Cipher." A gruff voice came from behind him.

He turned to see Stan, standing in the doorway glaring at him. He spat the waffle back onto his plate.

"Well, well, well, you finally recognize me. Took you long enough, Fez." Bill taunted.

Stan didn't look amused at the old nickname. In fact, Stan looked angry.

"You drove McGucket to insanity!" Stan snarled. "And now my brother is lost because you destroyed that portal!"

Bill stood up abruptly and towered over the older man.

"McGucket wouldn't have been able to handle what was going to happen next anyways. This town wasn't ready for what that portal has to offer!" Bill growled, and then he smiled menacingly. "In fact, it still isn't. No one in this world is."

Dipper came down the stairs to find Grunkle Stan and Bill Cipher in some kind of weird staring contest.

Bill stood with an almost painful looking grin on his face, his golden eye fixated on the man in front of him. Bill's hands were glowing a soft cyan color, smoke swirling around his fists and towards his face.

Stan looked unabated. He held his angry gaze with a cold intensity to match Bill's insane gaze. He held a baseball bat in one hand which he clenched so tightly his knuckles were turning white.

Dipper paused. What was going on?

"I don't care if we weren't ready!" Grunkle Stan snarled, reaching up and jabbing Bill in the chest, hard. "Think of how many problems we would have solved! We trusted you to help us!"

Bill did not move. He merely grinned wider.

"Right," he chuckled, rolling his eye and then focusing back on Stan. "If you call your tiny heads exploding from the infinite knowledge you would have gained problem solving. That thing was a mess from the start. I only helped you because it seemed like a silly, harmless hunt at first. I didn't expect you to try and bust into my realm!"

Dipper took a few steps back. Apparently Stan knew Bill. Bill had been helping them with something. He considered interrupting the confrontation, but it quickly ended when Stan suddenly stormed off. Bill watched him leave, and sat down. He prodded at the waffle on the plate in front of him.

"I know you're there, Pinetree." Bill said softly.


	13. Chapter 13

Dipper hesitated. He didn't know if he dared approach the dream demon after the odd display he had just seen. Should he trust Bill?

"Don't worry about that, kid." Bill said.

That's right. Bill could still read minds.

"Bill, what was that?" Dipper asked shakily.

He nervously inched towards him. Bill was attempting to slurp his waffle like spaghetti.

"Honestly, something we shouldn't let stand in our way of stopping Gideon." Bill grumbled through slurps. "Fez has a few problems with me that are just going to have to wait."

Dipper frowned.

"I'm sorry, but I have to know what happened." He said.

"Pinetree, it's not-" Bill began.

"No, we can't continue if I can't trust you! You could put us all in danger!" Dipper stammered.

Bill sighed and put his fork down.

"Alright, alright." He said, rubbing his eye. "But you have to understand, what happened 30 years ago was for the good of this dimension... And the next."

"Okay," said Dipper. "But what does Grunkle Stan have anything to do with it?"

"Well kid, your great uncle know a lot more about the paranormal things in this town than you can even imagine." Bill began. "It all started when your grandpa, your great uncle's twin, had discovered a certain horde of gnomes living in the forest."

"The ones Mabel and I found?" Dipper inquired.

"Yeah, those ones." Bill continued. "Your uncle thought it was dangerous to be investigating the paranormal like your grandpa was, but he kept following the guy on all of his hunts and even began to enjoy himself. Eventually McGucket joined them. The three thought they were brilliant, scouring the forest for whatever they could get their hands on. Eventually one of them discovered me. It was only a matter of time."

"Wait, the three of them were the first humans to summon you?!" Dipper exclaimed in disbelief.

"Of course not!" Bill snapped back. "I've been summoned hundreds of times throughout human history. I tend to not shy away from people."

Dipper frowned. But Bill kept talking.

"Anyways, I was intrigued by their curiosity. They were clever enough, so I started sharing some of my infinite wisdom, they'd earned it." Bill had examining his fingernails, but suddenly his time suddenly went dark. "But they went too far. They wanted to enter my dimension. Now that's a place where you linear minded meat bags don't belong. Time doesn't exist there."

Dipper's jaw dropped.

"And as you can imagine, I took matters into my own, more capable hands." Bill continued, smoke was rising from his hands, and he stared intensely at Dipper, grimacing. "I destroyed the portal, and unfortunately McGucket's mind wasn't able to comprehend what had happened. Gideon plans on using a new portal to destroy the town. And that is why we can't fail."

And just like that Bill went back to trying to slurp his waffle. Dipper was trembling. His mind was still racing... How was he going to stop Gideon?

"And that is why we can't fail."

Bill's warning still echoed in his mind...

Wendy approached the Mystery Shack to see pacing back and forth in front, looking frustrated and perplexed.

She frowned. She was only 5 minutes late!

"Uh, ?" She called hesitantly, but he didn't turn his head. "I'm um, just gonna check it... I'm perfectly on time!"

He usually responded with a sarcastic "yeah right", whenever she said that. But still be paced, back and forth, his eyes fixated on the ground. Something was up.


	14. Chapter 14

Bill finished explaining his confrontation with Stan to Pinetree. He sat back and let the shock sink in. He was glad he'd left out some of the more frightening details like how his Grandpa had actually entered the portal, Pinetree seemed shocked enough as. Besides, he needed to eat his breakfast... Somehow.

He sat there, trying different of eating until Shooting Star, no. Mabel came back into the kitchen.

"That's not how you eat silly!" Mabel exclaimed. "You have to chomp your teeth together!"

Bill tried chomping the waffle. It worked much better. He tried chomping his orange juice too, but that didn't work as well.

Mabel sat next to Pinetree and giggled.

"Hey bro-bro!" She greeted her twin.

Pinetree only stared at his feet. His long would it take for everything to sink in?

Red entered the room.

"Guys?" She said, and Bill could sense she was a bit uneasy. "What's up with Stan?"

Bill shrugged.

"Probably some old man thing." He suggested, and he dumped more juice into his face.

Pinetree suddenly have Bill an unapproving look, and Red shook her head.

"No, I've never seen him like this before." Red continued. "He's just walking back and forth... Like he's in a trance or something."

Bill dropped his fork. He remembered a page of the journal from when he was gathering information from Gideon's mind: the pacing potion. He slowly stood up and shuffled out the door.

"Bill!" Mabel called after him. "You didn't finish your waffle!"

Bill found Stan just as Wendy had described, pacing back and forth. Bill decided to test his theory and tried to stop Stan, but he brushed Bill aside as if he weren't there. Bill frowned. He was obviously in a trance. He just needed to remember how to break it...

Dipper hurried out after Bill, Wendy and Mabel hot on his heels. Grunkle Stan was pacing back and forth. Bill appeared to be trying to stop him, his brows furrowed.

"Grunkle Stan?" Mabel whispered, she sounded nervous. "What's wrong with him, Bill?"

Dipper put his hand on his twin's shoulder.

"Mabel, I don't know that we should be trusting Bill." He murmured.

"Huh?" Mabel looked confused. "But he helped us figure out what Gideon was up to!"

"For all we know Bill could have been the one to do this to Grunkle Stan." Dipper suggested, and when Mabel looked bewildered he explained. "I found Bill and Grunkle Stan arguing this morning. When I asked why, Bill tried to feed me some phony story about Grunkle Stan and Grandpa trying to open a portal to another dimension. Bill claimed he stopped them to protect them, but I could see right through his sketchy story."

Here Mabel pulled away.

"Dipper, I don't think you're right!" She squeaked. "I think Bill's changed. Besides, how would Bill benefit from cursing Grunkle Stan?"

Dipper glanced over at Stan and Bill. Bill had managed to get Stan to stop. His hand was glowing, and he was having Stan follow his hand back and forth like hypnosis. Bill snapped his fingers, and Stan shook his head and looked around.

"Wha- huh?!" Stan stammered. "How long have I been out here?!"

"There!" Bill exclaimed triumphantly, he bowed. "All better."

A thought but Dipper and he turned back to Bill.

"To trick us into trusting him!" He concluded, but Mabel backed away.

"No Dipper, I don't think so." She said, and she dashed off to check on Stan.

Dipper groaned. Why wasn't Mabel listening to him?! Bill had been a that to them in the past, why was it such a terrible notion to her that he might be a threat now?!


	15. Chapter 15

Gideon lingered in the bushes a while longer. He wanted to see how the events would unfold after cursing Stanford. The redhead had run inside, looking concerned and Gideon grinned. He couldn't wait to see the look on the Pines twins' faces!

He waited very patiently, tapping his foot in anticipation when his jaw dropped in horror: Bill Cipher came rushing to Stanford first.

"Cipher?!" Gideon whispered to himself.

He clenched his fists in anger. Of course! Bill was working for the Pines family! That would explain why he was trying to spy on him...

Gideon frowned. As long as the Pines family had Bill under their control, his plans for Gravity Falls would be hindered greatly.

He slipped back into the forest, glaring as Bill undid the spell he'd cast on Stanford. He had work to do...

Bill led Stan back into the shack. He knew the old man would be discombobulated for a few hours. He turned to Pinetree.

"Make sure he rests for a bit," he ordered, and Pinetree narrowed his eyes.

Bill could sense distrust sparking off the preteen, but Pinetree nodded and led Stan to his room.

"Bill?" Mabel squeaked as Bill watched them go. "Who would curse Grunkle Stan like this?"

"Well kid," Bill began, turning his gaze to her. "Who have we been trying to stop this entire time?"

"Gideon?" The girl gulped.

Bill nodded.

"Correct," he said. "Now, Gideon is out for vengeance. And after that, pure power."

Mabel looked terrified.

"Then we'll just have to work harder to stop him!" Mabel piped up, then she grinned. "Eugh, right after you take a shower! You stink!"

Bill frowned. Demons never worried about hygiene... But he figured he probably start worrying now that he was trapped in this form.

The next few days were spent researching different artifacts the Gideon could potentially use, and planning how to get into the bunker and retrieve the amulet before him. The full moon was in just a matter of days, and they needed to move one step ahead of Gideon if they wanted to succeed.

Stan allowed Bill to stay, afterall, Bill had saved him, and proved to be helpful in earning money for the Mystery Shack.

Pinetree, on the other hand, remained skeptical. Bill would notice him slinking off to work in secret. Bill found it ridiculous. He'd seemed to have forgotten that Bill was the master of the mind, and that he could read every thought Pinetree had for "Bill Proofing" the plan for good measure.

Bill also took note of the growing tension between Pinetree and his sister. Even though Pinetree questioned Bill's every move, Mabel followed him around whole heartedly.

The growing rift between the two made Bill uneasy. They would need to work together if they wanted to succeed, and the flustered twins proved to be difficult to work around.

How could they stop Gideon if they couldn't trust each other?


	16. Chapter 16

Dipper sat outside, gazing at the stars. He frowned. He and Mabel had been fighting a lot.

He sighed. He wasn't sure why he didn't fully believe Bill. He genuinely seemed concerned about what might happen if Gideon got his hands on a portal to another dimension.

And yet Stan must have a reason for his major dislike of Bill. Dipper knew he did. He'd never forget the time he had to venture into Stan's mind to stop him from stealing the code to Stan's safe, and he shuddered remembering the time Bill stole his body and tried to destroy the journal. It just didn't add up to anything Bill was doing now.

Dipper frowned and turned his eyes to the waxing moon. Why should he trust Bill? He didn't even explain what had happened to his Grandfather.

And yet...

He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the night. It was calm, peaceful even. He might have even enjoyed it if he weren't so troubled.

"Dipper?" The sound of Wendy's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He turned his head to see her standing behind her, the moonlight reflecting silver on her hair.

"Hey Wendy," Dipper murmured, trying to smile up at her.

She sat down next to him and looked up at the night sky.

"You okay?" She inquired.

"I..." Dipper sighed. "I don't know. I'm so confused. Mabel thinks that we should continue to trust Bill, but I can't forget about what happened in the past... And I can't shake the feeling that he's not telling us something."

A gentle smile spread across Wendy's face.

"Dude, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You've gotten us out of some tight jams before!" She encouraged him. At this point, we don't have much to lose. I'd rather get into another fight with Bill than see Gideon unleash chaos. "

Dipper chuckled and smiled.

"Yeah," he said. "I guess I feel the same."

"You got this Dipper." She said, ruffling his hair.

Then she did something unexpected.

She kissed Dipper gently on the head and walked away.

She wasn't sure why she'd done it, but judging by his face it was probably an excellent motivator. She re-entered the Mystery Shack to find Bill examining a mini version of the Mystery Shack for Mabel's panorama.

"Your boyfriend doesn't trust me." Bill said blankly, still fixated on the tiny Mystery Shack.

"He's not my boyfriend," she retorted.

"Not yet." Bill continued, and he hesitated. "Do you trust me?"

"You know, I'm not so sure." Wendy replied indignantly. "But I'm going to have to until we stop Gideon. But listen here Billy Boy, you step one toe out of line and I'm going to personally make sure you regret it."

It was then that Bill looked up at her, a bizarre grin on his face.

"An excellent choice, Red." He declared.


	17. Chapter 17

Dipper sighed. Soos passed him a bag of Cheese Boodles.

"Here Dude," Soos said enthusiastically. "We'll need lots of snacks for the journey."

"Soos is right!" Mabel chipped in, and she passed Dipper two water bottles. "We'll need these as well!"

Dipper smiled at his sister. She had been very supportive of him since their disagreement about Bill, luckily Soos and Wendy were able to ease the tensions between the two of them.

Dipper picked up the journal.

"This is it guys!" He said, turning to Soos, Wendy, and Mabel. "This is our chance to stop Gideon if he's up to something, as well as our chance to discover the Owl Tree!"

Everyone cheered.

"Let's do this!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Yeah Dudes!" Soos whooped. "This is gonna be the best adventure yet!"

"We got this bro-bro!" Mabel cheered, bringing Dipper in for a noogie.

They began to head out the shack. Bill stood leaned up on the front door frame, grinning. As they were about to head out, Stan stopped Dipper and pulled him aside.

"Have fun exploring kid," Stan said. "But please, be careful. I don't know what kind of deal you made with Bill, but please, know that he's not one for keeping promises."

Dipper looked Stan directly in the eyes. He talked as if he didn't know what kind of mission they were on, but he had a knowing look of concern on his face that he obviously couldn't hide.

"I'll be careful Grunkle Stan," he said smiling. "Don't worry about us!"

Stan nodded and smiled, but he still looked worried. As Dipper rushed out the door, he clutched a freshly mixed bottle of burning potion tightly in his inner vest pocket...

The group paused an hour into their journey for snacks. Bill was reluctant, but eventually gave in and devoured a peanut butter sandwich hastily after Mabel threatened him with tickles and synthesized music if he didn't stop and eat. He had experienced being ticklish once before, and he didn't plan on experiencing it again. He was not overly fond of it.

Pinetree sat examining the map that Bill had very intricately drawn out for them. A fresh wave of frustration washed over Bill. After everything Bill had done to tried to do to gain their trust, skepticism still sparked from Pinetree like electricity. Bill sighed and crossed his legs and shut his eye, perhaps a moment of introspection would calm his frayed nerves.

He hoped that Pinetree's distrust wouldn't slow the group down. If they missed the full moon, Bill's plans would be ruined, and he'd need to start again from scratch.

Someone poked him on the nose and he opened his eye. Mabel stared cheerily back at him.

"Come on Sir Triangle Guy! We gotta get moving!" She said.

"Yes ma'am," Bill saluted, grinning.

At least Mabel proved beneficial to his cause.

Bill hopped off the rock he had been perched on and let the group deeper into the forest. Gold light filtered through the branches as they walked. Bill walked faster. They couldn't be late.

Something rustled in the bushes and Bill paused, glancing around. He saw a shadow move across one of the trees and narrowed his eye. They were being followed.

Before Bill could warn the others Gideon leaped out of the bushes right at him.

There was a bright flash and suddenly Bill could remember nothing...


	18. Chapter 18

Dipper turned just in time to see Gideon zapping Bill with McGucket's memory erasing gun. He watched in shock as Bill toppled to the ground looking dazed. Gideon cackled and turned to Dipper and the rest of the group.

"Enjoying your new minion, Pines?" Gideon snorted, "I know I did. Oops, that's right. He failed me, and now he sure ain't gonna do you any good without his memories!"

Dipper's jaw dropped as Gideon let out another screech of laugher and kicked Bill as he struggled to get up.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you demon?!" Gideon snarled.

"Gideon, stop!" Dipper exclaimed, for once he actually felt bad for Bill. "Just leave him alone! He's harmless now! What do you want anyways?!"

Gideon suddenly looked panicked.

"Oh Dipper, I just need to warn you about Bill!" Gideon exclaimed. "He's using you to to get to the portal!"

"You know about the portal? So Bill was right!" Mabel accused. "I don't believe you!"

She bent down to help Bill to his feet, he looked shaky and bewildered.

"Mabel dearest, you'd trust a demon who tried to destroy your uncle's mind before you'd trust lil' ole me?" He taunted.

"You are the one who told him to!" Mabel snapped back.

"Who am I? What is going on?!" Bill shrieked.

"Shut up!" Gideon growled, and then he held the memory gun up, turning to Dipper. "Now Pines, wouldn't you love to see these memories? What secrets they must hold... All of this could be yours! That is, of you have over whatever you have that will lead me to the bunker!"

Dipper gazed at the memory tube, imagining everything he could learn... He glanced at Bill's map.

But he shook his head.

"No!" He yelled.

Gideon suddenly grabbed Wendy by the wrist and aimed the gun at her.

"Wendy!" Dipper shrieked. "Let go of her Gideon!"

"Not so fast Pines," Gideon giggled. "The map please!"

Dipper felt a hot tear roll down his cheek. He glanced around, turning his back to Gideon for a brief moment. Bill was curled in a ball and rocking back and forth, Soos held his hands up in a surrendering position, and Mabel looked shocked.

Dipper sighed and turned back to Gideon...

Wendy and Dipper's eyes met for only a moment.

"Hand it over Pines," Gideon growled.

Wendy could see Dipper's lip trembling as he timed the piece of paper up in his hand. She tried to shake her head. He didn't need to do that! They needed to get to the bunker before Gideon! But Dipper lowered his head and handed Gideon the paper. Gideon released Wendy and pushed her down, tossing Bill's memories down too.

"Good choice," Gideon cackled, and he disappeared back into the trees.

Everyone was silent except for Bill who was still whimpering a few feet away.

"Dipper..." Wendy broke the silence. "Did you really just...?"

A grin spread across Dipper's face.

"Give Gideon the map?" Dipper said cheekily. "Of course not! But I may have given him a fake!"

He held up Bill's map triumphantly, and Wendy leaped up and embraced Dipper.

"Dude!" She exclaimed. "You're a genius! You had me so worried!"

Soos and Mabel joined the embrace, the laughed and teased each other when Mabel bent down and picked up Bill's memories.

"Well?" She squeaked. "What should we do with them?"


	19. Chapter 19

Dipper frowned down at the tube of memories, then glanced at Bill who was now just looking traumatized. He sighed and walked over to the golden haired man.

"Hey," he said, sitting next to him. "Are you uh, gonna be okay?"

"I don't know." Bill whimpered. "Can you please explain to me what's going on here?"

"Well, your name is Bill." Dipper began, helping the former demon to his feet. "Bill Cipher actually. You were helping us save our town when uh, Gideon wiped your memory. I'm... I'm really sorry Bill."

He passed Bill the memory tube. Bill looked sad, but stood up. A wave of sympathy washed over Dipper, it wouldn't be fair to Bill if Dipper reverted back to being distrustful of him. He put his hand on Bill's shoulder.

"It's gonna be okay." Dipper said, trying to comfort him.

Bill furrowed his brow and looked thoughtful.

"Well, if your town's in danger," He began shakily. "Maybe we should get back to work on saving it?"

Dipper glanced around and smiled at his friends. Maybe Bill would prove to be more helpful with his memory wiped.

They journeyed deeper into the woods. Mabel kept trying unsuccessfully to jog Bill's memory along the way. Apparently he refused to believe a word she said about his past. Dipper chuckled to himself. He would have a hard time believing stories about him being a swankily dressed triangular dream demon too.

Bill. That was what the kid had told him his name was.

His head buzzed and hurt. He was almost positive he was insane.

He kept hearing the voices of everyone around him, only they were saying things he'd never heard them sat before. It was almost as if he were reading their minds.

Sweat poured down his face as he struggled to block out the wave of voices around him when Dipper gasped.

"There it is!" He exclaimed.

The kid rushed forward towards a tree.

It was dark now, and the full moon's light created a silver dappled pattern on the forest floor.

As Bill and the rest of the group approached the tree, he could see a large eyed owl carved into the bark, it's eyes were two glowing stones.

"This is it!" Dipper said, and he reached out and pressed the owl's eyes.

There was a creaking sound and the tree shifted to reveal a staircase descending into the ground. Old flickering lanterns lit the way down into the tunnel. One by one, the group shuffled down.

The large chubby man was the last one to enter, pulling a knob to close the entrance to the bunker behind him.

It was eerily silent. Bill had finally managed to control the voices that had been droning in his head ever since their encounter with the creepy little marshmallow man, and the empty silence added to the strangeness of the musty old tunnel.

The group plodded along through the winding tunnel. Bill wasn't sure how long they had been walking for when he heard rushing water nearby.

The tunnel turned into a dead end with a ladder that went straight up into a hatch in the ceiling.

The chubby man laughed.

"Haha, good thing none of us dudes are afraid of heights, am I right?" He chuckled.

Bill felt uneasy as Dipper, the chubby one, and the redhead began to climb. Was he afraid of heights? He couldn't remember. He turned to Mabel.

"Uh, am I afraid of heights?" He whispered, he didn't want to his friends to think he was dumb.

"Of course not!" Mabel piped up, and then the added: "but here, I'll help you up if you want!"

She took him by the hand and led him to the ladder. Slowly they scaled it until they came through to a small room.

Cobwebs were everywhere, and it was a cluttered mess. There were intricate looking machines everywhere, and there was a door opposite to where they had come through.

Suddenly Dipper gasped and pointed to a machine with a screen attached to it.

"Look!" He exclaimed. "That looks like the same machine we saw McGucket's memories in! Maybe we can run Bill's through!"

"Really?" Bill said, and he smiled.

Maybe he could remember who he was!

Dipper took the tube of his memories, and static appeared on the screen. Slowly and image came into view. Three men stood in a dark room, a blue light reflecting off their faces, a glowing triangle with one eye floated nearby.

"McGucket!" One of the men yelled. "Flip that switch! This is just what we've been waiting for!"


	20. Chapter 20

Dipper's jaw dropped. There was Grunkle Stan, Professor McGucket, and his grandpa all standing with none other than Bill Cipher in front of a very large portal that was and shaped like an upside down triangle.

The Bill from the memory looked worried as Dipper's grandpa stepped towards the portal.

"Y'know Six Fingers, it's not a great idea to be walking into a strange portal like that." Bill warned.

Dipper's grandpa smiled. He was amazed at how much he looked like his Grunkle Stan except for his right hand, which had six fingers...

Dipper gasped at the realization. He heard Mabel, Soos, and Wendy gasp as well.

His grandpa tied a rope around his waist and tossed the other end to Stan and McGucket. He stepped through.

Suddenly the ground began to shake and the portal let out massive bolts of energy.

"Hang on!" Stan yelled.

McGucket and Stan dug their heels in, the building was beginning to collapse around them, Bill was looking around, looking panicked.

"You have to close the portal!" Bill yelled. "It's going to tear a rift in this dimension!"

But McGucket and Stan did not appear to be listening to him. They held on, looking amazed by the sparks that flew out of the swirling vortex.

Bill closed his eye and sighed.

"I'm so sorry Glasses," he muttered, and he grabbed McGucket by the shoulder and melded into him.

Three possessed McGucket thrashed around at first, but Bill eventually gained control of the man. Bill used McGucket's body to shove Stan down. He then went to work at smashing all of the equipment.

Bill moved about in frantic jerky movements as if he didn't have full control of McGucket's body. He finally smashed into the power generator, and the portal powered down with a flash, Bill then drifted out of McGucket's body, and the man collapsed, panting.

Dipper was shocked. He wasn't sure what to make of what he had just seen. Bill turned invisible, and the rest of the scene consisted of Stan pacing, cursing Bill.

He knocked things over angrily, and whipped out journal #3. Stan scribbled out the entry that Dipper's grandfather had written and replaced it with the warning about Bill that was currently in the journal.

After he was done, Stan left the lab, sobbing.

Bill drifted back down, looking devastated. He plopped onto the ground.

"I'm sorry." He repeated.

He gazed at the portal, where a six toed owl sat glancing around looking surprised.

"Don't worry ," Bill said to the owl, drifting over to him. "You'll get used to it eventually. Just be glad you were able to survive."

There Dipper stopped the memory. That was all he needed to see for now. He turned to Bill. He knew he could trust him now, but Bill only looked frightened and he raced off deeper into the bunker.

"Bill!" Dipper called. "Bill it's okay! Come back!"

Mabel put her hand on his shoulder, she looked solemn.

"Come on bro-bro." She said. "We need to leave him be for a bit. We need to find that amulet anyways."

Dipper nodded, and they began to dig around.

Bill raced down the hall.

There was no way that's who he was. There's no way he had taken possession of one of his friends. And even if he had, how could these ones he had even trust him now.

"I am not a monster." Bill said, and he repeated it over and over again.

As if repeating it made it true.

"I am not a monster. I am not a monster, I am not a monster, I am not a monster..."


	21. Chapter 21

After all of the small room had been checked for the amulet, Wendy suggested that they head through the door that Bill had disappeared through.

"Who knows? Maybe Bill already found it?" She said.

Dipper nodded, but he still had a blank look on his face. Wendy took him by the hand to lead him along. She knew he was shocked, but that couldn't stop them from retrieving the amulet.

They stepped through the door and onto a platform that overlooked the river rushing below them. A catwalk connected the platform which they stood on to a platform on the opposite end of the bunker.

Wendy looked down. The river was running through turbines and rushing out a shaft.

"This must be the Gravity Falls dam!" Mabel gasped.

"Dudes this is awesome!" Soos whispered excitedly.

Even Dipper had a look of awe on his face.

They gazed down at the rushing water for a moment longer, and then began to cross the catwalk.

They were almost to the other side when a white haired figure approached them from the opposite platform, a glowing white stone in his hand. The group stopped.

"Not so fast." Gideon growled. "Did you really think I didn't know how to get here? I've been planning this for months-"

And before he could say another word, Dipper leaped forward and punched him in the face. The scuffle only lasted a few minutes though, as Gideon used the amulet to levitate Dipper several feet above the catwalk.

"Dipper!" Wendy cried, aghast.

"Wendy!" Dipper called back frantically. "Run!"

Gideon cackled.

"If any of you move, I'll drop him over the edge!" He threatened. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a portal to locate and use. Behold my power!"

Gideon dropped Dipper onto the catwalk and Wendy and Mabel rushed over to him. Gideon then blasted a hole in the wall, and blasted the turbines. The bunker began to shake as the dam began to fail. Gideon continued to laugh as he rose above the scene.

Suddenly Bill came sprinting down the catwalk and leaped onto Gideon. The two collapsed back down onto the catwalk which was now swaying and creaking.

They watched in shock as Bill tore the amulet from Gideon's hand and began to rise up above them, laughing.

His form began to morph back into his triangular shape.

"Ohh it is good to be back!" The omnipresent triangle cackled.

Bill closed his eye and his powers, along with all his memories, can rushing back.

He knew the power he held was only for the full moon, and as long as he held the amulet, but he was going to take full advantage of it while he had it.

"You!" He yelled down to Gideon.

He zoomed down to Gideon and prepared to zap him with a laser, but he hesitated. No. He needed to choose something that would not be destructive. The dam was coming down around them, the exit was blocked, and his newfound friends would need to be able to escape.

_Well then_. Bill thought. _Time for Plan B._

He charged down at Gideon and overshadowed him. The then proceeded to rise up, and punch himself in the face repeatedly.

Pinetree looked confused.

"Bill?" Pinetree said. "You're still helping us?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?!" Bill grumbled. "Find a way out! I'll take care of Gideon!"

But it was too late. There was a loud rumbling sound as the dam burst around them...


	22. Chapter 22

Dipper watched in horror as a massive wave broke through the turbines.

He looked up just in time to see Soos wrap his arms around he, Mabel, and Wendy. They braced themselves for impact, Dipper could here Mabel screaming next to him.

"Hold on dudes!" Soos yelled.

The wave hit them with a massive enough force to rip the catwalk from the sides of the bunker, but somehow, they remained on top as everything came crashing down.

Dipper turned and saw that Bill was using the amulet's power to keep the catwalk from harm's way.

"We're alive!" Mabel squeaked, and she embraced Dipper. "We're gonna make it!"

But as the catwalk sloshed out into the river, Dipper spotted the sun coming up on the horizon. As it did, Bill's form was ripped from Gideon's body, and it reverted back into his human form.

Gideon looked woozy, and toppled over, unconscious.

"What happened?!" Dipper called to Bill, panicked.

"The sun came up!" Bill yelled back. "The amulet only gets its power from the full moon!"

They hit a rock and the amulet bounced out of Bill's hand and into the water.

"Hang on!" Dipper yelled, he held onto the railing with one arm and even secured Gideon with the other.

The river nearly capsized them several times, but eventually it snagged on a rock and came to a screeching halt.

A wave of hope overcame Dipper. The catwalk stretched from the middle of the river to the shore! They could escape!

"Guys!" He yelled. "Walk down the catwalk! It stretches to shore!"

Soos slung Gideon over his back and cautiously made it to the other side, which he secured. Bill followed, then Wendy and Dipper.

Dipper turned to see Mabel shivering and looking frightened on the catwalk.

"Come on Mabel!" He called, but she didn't move.

"I can't!" She called back.

"Yes you can!" Dipper yelled, inching back onto the catwalk. "Here, I'll help you..."

He reached his hand out to her, and she shuffled forward.

As tub m he was about to take her by the hand, they were hit by a piece of debris and the catwalk tipped Mabel over and into the water.

"Mabe-!" Dipper screamed, but he was cut off at he smacked his head into the railing.

Everything went black...


	23. Chapter 23

Wendy reached out and grabbed Dipper by the leg, pulling him onto shore. Clouds had rolled in since that night, and a melancholy feeling hung in the air.

"He's unconscious!" She exclaimed, and she spotted Mabel swirling away. "Mabel!"

She sprinted for the water, ready to dive in, but Bill leaped passed her.

She gasped as Bill plunged in. She watched, anxious before turning to Dipper.

He was breathing, but she couldn't hold back a few tears for her friend. She cradled his head in her arms.

Rain began to pour down on them. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Please don't be die on me Dipper." She whispered. "You're my best friend... I...I love you."

Water swirled around him. He struggled to see as he tried desperately to swim against the current. There was a flash of lightning and her silhouette appeared briefly ahead of him. He popped his head above the surface and gasped for air, just in time to see her bob frantically up out of the water and cry for help, he paddled faster, colliding with the flotsam from the burst dam. His body screamed at him to stop, but he knew he couldn't. If he dared give up, Mabel would die...

Bill streamlined forward. If his friend's life weren't in jeopardy, he might have enjoyed swimming, it was just like flying.

The rapids were getting faster, and Bill realized in horror that they must be getting closer to the falls.

Mabel appeared back into his field of vision, she was grasping onto a log as it spun out of control and smashed into a cluster of rocks in the middle of the river.

He darted over and grabbed hold of the log she was on but something caught him by the ankle, and he yelped in pain.

He turned his head to see it caught in between two rocks. He gritted his teeth and yanked himself free.

Finally he reached her.

"Mabel!" He called out, scrambling to get a hold of the log.

"Bill?!" She shrieked.

"I'm right here!" Bill yelled. "Let's get you out of here."

He gently swooped her up into his arm, and sprung towards shore.

"I knew I should have brought my grappling hook!" Mabel yelled as they fought the current.

Bill propelled them forward until they hit water shallow enough to stand in. The stood, and Mabel wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you Bill." She whispered.

Bill smiled.

"No problem Shooting Star," he said.

Mabel and Bill made their way back to their friends. Mabel had to help Bill walk, he was limping pretty badly.

They arrived just in time to see Dipper waking up.

"Dipper!" Mabel yelled, and she tackled her brother.

"Mabel! Ow. You're alright!" Dipper rasped.

The two laughed and cried, and Bill turned to see Wendy looking fondly on the scene.

"Well Red," Bill chided, he could see the way she was looking at Dipper. "Whatdaya say?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled.

"You're right Bill," she said. "I've been blind."

"Let me go!' Gideon's voice yelled, and Bill turned to see Soos holding him in a straight jacket position.

"No way Dude!" Soos laughed. "You're going back to prison!"

Bill grinned. Everything was going to be okay.


	24. Chapter 24

The wind rustled through the trees as Dipper and Mabel hugged Grunkle Stan. Bill watched on, glad the two of them had enjoyed their time in Gravity Falls.

Stan and Bill had had a long talk following their adventure in stopping Gideon, and Stan was finally able to understand why Bill had turned the portal off.

Stan even offered Bill a room to stay in as long as he earned his keep working for the Mystery Shack.

Wendy have Dipper one more hug before he climbed onto the bus, and Mabel pranced over to Bill.

"Do you like the sweater?" She inquired.

Bill was sporting a bright yellow sweater which she had knitted for him which had an image of his old form stitched into the front of it.

"Like it?" He said. "I love it!"

She grinned, hugged him one more time before scurrying onto the bus.

Bill, Stan, Wendy, and Soos waved goodbye as the bus disappeared. The September sun was setting in the distance.

After Dipper and Mabel had left, Soos and Wendy went home. Bill and Stan sat on the porch of the Mystery Shack.

"So my brother basically turned into an owl?" Stan inquired.

Bill shrugged.

"A being of pure energy actually, but yes. He took the form of an owl." Bill replied.

"Do you think we can find him?" Stan asked.

Bill smiled, gazing off into the distance.

"Oh yes. I think it'll be easier than you think." said Bill, as a hooting came from deep in the forest...

The two sat talking until Stan got tired and went to bed. Bill remained out, gazing at the moon.

He was eager to start his new life as a human. He smiled to himself. And even more eager for the next summer when Pinetree and Shooting Star would come again.


End file.
